Magik Tricks
by DarkGatomon
Summary: PG for some romance, but not much. When Richie finds a new and previously undiscovered Pokémon, it might be more than he and Ash can handle...


_Author's Note: I wrote this at the request of a friend. Believe me, there is no other way I'd write something like this. This isn't a fic I'm particurally proud of, between the plot, writing, and the fact that it's a Pokémon fic. However, I said I'd write it, and I have. So here it is. Maybe someone will like it... who knows? Only time -- and reviews -- will tell.  
Oh, yeah. I don't own Pokémon or its characters, nor do I wish to._

  


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Narrator: It was yet another beautiful day as Ash continued his Pokémon journey. But little did he know that he, Brock, and Misty weren't the only ones in these woods... or that the day to come would be full of surprises, and _dangers._

**"Magik Tricks"**

Misty smiled as she looked around. "Wow! It's such a beautiful day!"

"I know!" Brock's tone turned sorrowful. "It _could_ use a few more beautiful girls, though..."

"Are you saying I'm not beautiful?!" Misty screeched. "Tell him, Ash!"

Ash just laughed. "Oh, no, I'm not getting into this! Huh? Hey, what's that over there?"

"Ugh... pretty birdies?" Brock was lying on the ground with stars swirling around his head, obviously having felt Misty's wrath rather literally.

The girl sweatdropped. "Oh, you."

"No, I thought I hea... ACK!!" Ash was knocked off his feet.

Misty shook her head, shrugging and raising her hands, signalling innocence or hopelessness. "And the girl is the only one left standing..."

"Huh, what?" A boy that looked a whole lot like Ash was lying... on top of Ash. "Oh, Ash, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you there." He got up and offered Ash a hand, which Ash took.

"Wow! Richie! It's been a while! How've you been?" Ash hugged his friend happily.

"Great! And you guys all look good, too... Hey, Pikachu!" Richie scratched Pikachu's head, making it squeal happily.

Misty smiled at the newcomer. "So, why were you running through here so fast, Richie?"

"Well, I just saw this really weird Pokémon... it ran off this way, and I'm trying to catch it!"

Ash was psyched at the thought. "Wow, that's cool. I just love catching rare and unusual Pokémon!"

Misty nudged Ash with a sly look on her face. "Hey, can I see some of those rare and unusual Pokémon you've caught?" The boy sweatdropped and laughed nervously.

Brock was more interested in the Pokémon than the teasing. "So what kind of Pokémon was it, Richie?"

"I don't know, Brock. I've never seen anything like it before!"

"Well, there _are_ lots of Pokémon that haven't been identified yet... Let's go see what this one is like!" The idea of getting to work with a Pokémon that was entirely new and unknown was certainly bringing out the breeder in Brock.

"You could end up rich and famous, Richie!" pointed out Misty.

Richie was more of Brock's mind. "I just want to capture it so we can study it! Now, are we gonna stand here all day, or go and look for that Pokémon??"

"You're right! Let's go!" With Richie leading, they all set off trotting into the woods.

_Several hours later..._

Misty groaned and sat down heavily on the ground. "We gotta stop, guys! This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Misty's right," agreed Brock. "We should set up camp for the night."

Ash took a seat upon a rock. "Yeah, it _is_ getting dark."

"Okay. What do you need us to do, Brock?" asked Richie.

"If you and Ash would go get some firewood, I could get started on dinner."

Ash sighed as he stood up again. "I'm never gonna get to rest, am I?"

Richie laughed. "Come on, Ash. It's not so bad." They headed off into the woods together.

"Do you think we'll be able to find that Pokémon again?"

"I dunno, Ash... I sure hope so. But who knows how fa... aah!" Richie leapt back from the stick he'd been about to pick up.

"Huh? What is it, Richie?" Ash carefully nudged aside the stick. "Hey!! Is that a _Pokémon??_"

"It's that Pokémon I saw earlier! I'm gonna catch it!" Richie threw out a Pokéball. "Zippo, go! Flame thrower!" The Charmander blasted the strange Pokémon with a blast of fire. "Aah!"

Ash was awed. "It had no effect... Come on, we've got to see what this thing is!" He flipped open his Pokédex.

"Magik. No information about this Pokémon is known."

Richie sighed. "I could've told you _that_."

"Yeah, me too. Argh... you get one more shot at it, then I'm going for it, even if you did find it!"

"Deal. Zippo, return!" Richie called his Charmander back and tossed out another Pokéball. "Against Magik, I'll try... Sparky! Thunder shock, now!"

"Piika! CHUUUUU!!!!" Sparky sent a powerful electric attack slamming into Magik... but when it hit, the small purple penguin Pokémon started to glow bright blue.

"Maaaaaaaaaa!!"

"Pika pi?" Sparky stopped, surprised.

Ash gasped. "Aah! What's it doing?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good..."

"Giiiiiiiiiii!!" The blue glow grew brighter, and the penguin started to hover, beating its wings faster than the eye could follow.

"I knew that glow looked familiar!" cried Richie. "Do you think it could be... a psychic type?"

Ash was scared. "I think that's a distinct possibility..."

"MAGIK!!" The Pokémon's cry halted their conversation, and there was a bright blue flash... and then the world went black for our two heroes.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

"They sure have been gone for a long time. Think we should go look for them, Brock?"

"Yeah, maybe. They should've been back with the firewood by now."

Misty sighed, aggravated. "You know them! They probably got started comparing Pokémon or something." Pikachu, who had remained behind, commented sadly on this.

"Well, let's go remind them." Misty and Brock followed the path the two boys had taken into the forest. It wasn't long until they came across a boy lying unconscious on the ground... just one. He had Ash's coloring, but wore Richie's jacket and cap. "Ash! Oh, Ash, please wake up!" Misty knelt by her friend's side. "Say something! Oh, are you alright, Ash? Come on..."

The boy groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "Huh? What happened?" He sat up and groaned again. "Ughhh..."

"We just found you lying here," explained Brock. "You'd been gone for a while, so we came looking for you. Where's Richie?"

"Richie?" The boy looked around. "Where could he have gone? And that Pokémon, too!"

Suddenly, he started talking in a different voice... Richie's. "Huh? I'm right here, Ash." He went a bit bug-eyed. "What!" He looked down, around at the different people, then back at himself. "Ahh!"

Misty and Brock were gasping. "I don't believe it!"

"R-Richie? Ash?" Misty was trembling.

Richie spoke again. "If that Pokémon we saw -- Magik -- really was a psychic type, then that means..."

Ash's voice cut in. "...it knocked us out and got away!" The others fell over, surprised by his stupidity.

"NO! It means that it used a new kind of psychic attack, and... and..."

Misty finished his sentence, her voice faint. "Merged you?"

Richie nodded. "Seems so."

"Well, now, what do we do?" Brock's voice was calming.

"Now we go see if my dad can get us out of this mess."

~~ 

It was several hours before they finally were able to get to a Pokémon Center to use a phone. The time was mostly passed in awkward silence since nobody could think of anything to say that wasn't wholly discouraging, and it seemed rude to talk around Ash and Richie. So it was a relieved group that was gathered around the videophone.

Misty was nervous. "So, uh... you think your father will be able to help?"

Richie finished typing in the number and shrugged. "We'll see, won't we?" He tapped his fingers against the desk in time with the ringing of the phone. He and Ash had already agreed to let him do the talking.

A few seconds later, the phone was answered. Misty and Brock both gasped as the image appeared on the screen. "That's your father?!"

The man in question was middle-aged, with Richie's spiky red hair, and was wearing a white lab coat. Tons of electronics were scattered over every surface, from the desk at which he sat to the ceiling-high shelves lining the back wall, with huge machines covering the floor. Various electrical and magnetic Pokémon darted in and out of view of the camera.

"I know him!" cried Brock. "He's that scientist that's working on building computers and stuff specially for Pokémon! Professor Birch!"

Richie waved them quiet. "Hey, dad!"

"Why, hi there, Richie. What's up?"

"Well, actually, quite a lot." Richie explained what had happened as quickly and concisely as possible.

The professor nodded along with the tale, reserving comment until the end. "This isn't really my field of study, you know."

Richie almost fell out of the chair. "Yeah, but can't you at least try to help?"

"I'll see what I can do. Later." The display clicked off.

The boy leaned back and looked at the others. "Guess we should wait here 'til he comes up with something, huh?"

Misty was still sweatdropping at the professor's apparent lack of concern. "Yeah, I guess."

Brock cut in. "So that's your father, huh? No wonder you went into the Pokémon League! You must know tons about Pokémon already. What is it you want to do when you grow up?"

"I'm not sure yet, Brock. Maybe a scientist, or a breeder like you... maybe go into protection. We'll see."

Brock nodded. "You still have plenty of time before you have to decide."

Ash's voice startled everyone. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, Ash," quipped Misty with a smirk, "you better eat up. After all, you're eating for two now!"

"Ha, ha."

The merged boy toddled sleepily over to the table the next morning. "That" -- he paused to yawn -- "was very weird."

"_You_ think it was weird? I've never seen anyone so obsessed with Pokémon!"

"Well, I didn't see you dreaming about much more."

"Aheh-heh... that's good..."

Brock put a hand over his face and shook his head back and forth. "I _don't_ want to know."

After a hurried breakfast, they all clustered around the telephone again, anxiously counting the rings. Finally, an absent-minded-looking Professor Birch answered. "Oh, hello there, Richie. What's up?"

Richie sweatdropped nervously. "Uh, I was wondering if you'd found anything yet. Like, er, a cure."

"Right, that. Well, it's easy! Just capture the Magik, bring it back here, and I'll harness its psychic power and switch you back. Now, I have work to do." There was a click and the screen returned to stand-by.

Misty groaned. "Yeah. Easy."

"Hey, it may not be, but it's what we gotta do," reminded Richie, "and we'll never get finished if we don't get started, so let's go capture that Pokémon!"

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was almost three days before they caught sight of Magik again, and by then some of the members of the group were half-crazed. At least. Probably more. Rish -- as the Richie/Ash combo was commonly called behind his back -- spent most of the time talking to himself now. From the sounds of it, both parts were getting pretty desperate.

The other two people were, too, for that matter. "Argh! Brock, when do you think we'll be able to undo this??" Misty was nearly ripping her hair out after a long argument between Richie and Ash about sock brands.

"Soon, Misty... Let's just hope it's soon."

As if those words were a release, the next moment they literally stumbled over Magik. It wasn't nearly as irritated as they.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Somebody could have been hurt!"

"You could've killed us!"

"I'll show you!"

"No, don't!" Misty and Brock grabbed the other's arm and tried to keep him from doing something stupid.

"We need this thing's help, guys! You can't hurt it!"

Rish just kept struggling, ripping his already tattered shirt more into ribbons (there had been a few disagreements about the outfit).

"Ahh! Misty, Magik will get away if we don't do something quick! I'll hold Rish back, you capture that Pokémon!"

"Okay!" Misty let go and walked over to Magik, trying to be sweet. "Hello there, little Pokémon! We need you to come with us to undo the damage you did to our friend. How does that sound?" She knelt and held out her hand.

"Magik!" responded the Pokémon querulously, before jumping up and beating Misty's head with its wings.

"AGH!" Misty toppled over backwards, fish flying around her head. "That huuuuuurrt..."

"Misty!" Rish started struggling even harder, trying to get to her.

Brock redoubled his efforts to hold him back, knowing that it was the boy's only chance. "Misty, you've got to get up! Think of Ash!"

"Hey! What _about_ me?!"

Misty jumped back to her feet. 'Brock's right. Ash and Richie are counting on me!' Fire started dancing in the girl's eyes. "Against a flying psychic Pokémon, I'll use... Starmie! Go!" She called out the water Pokémon. "Starmie, get its wings wet! Use water gun!"

But when the attack hit Magik...

"Aah! It... likes it??" The purple Pokémon was indeed playing around in the stream of water.

"Misty, Magik is a penguin type! They're birds, but they hunt in the water!"

The girl groaned. "Oh, I forgot. Well, then, tackle attack!"

"Maaa!" Magik squealed as it was hit, but quickly beat Starmie off with its wings, just as it had Misty.

"THAT'S IT!" Rish gave a mighty jerk and pulled himself free of Brock.

"No, wait!" Brock grabbed the boy's backpack, but the thing just split at the seams as Rish kept running.

Misty gasped as Starmie collapsed on the ground. "Oh! Starmie, return!" She quickly called it back.

"Now, you have to face me!" declared Rish as he stepped forward. "And I'll be no easy match!"

Magik turned around to reply angrily, but stopped short when it saw what had spilled from Rish's backpack. In between the magazines and maps, there were candy bars. Piles of them. Its eyes turned watery. "Maaaa!"

"Huh? What? Oh, no you don't!"

"Oh, yes it does!" Brock grabbed Rish's arm again. "Let it eat those, and maybe it'll go and help you get back to normal!"

Rish hung his head. "Alright."

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Rish was dressed in a Roman toga made out of a towel and wearing a crown of leaves by the time they reached Professor Birch's laboratory. Magik was being coaxed along with candy and treats, the price of which had the group nearly broke. Brock and Misty had had to keep restraining each other from attacking the obnoxious Pokémon.

It took about five minutes to convince Rish to stop threatening everyone who came within ten feet of Misty, and let the professor attach the electrodes to his head. Magik barely presented a problem at all. In comparison with the painful journey, the simplicity of the procedure was anticlimactic. Misty, Brock, and Professor Birch left the room, there was a blue glow, and then Ash and Richie walked out.

The two boys looked at each other for ten silent seconds. Then they gave hurried and concurrent farewells and ran off in different directions -- Richie to his room and Ash outside.

Misty and Brock stayed behind for a few minutes. "Thank you so much for helping our friends out, Professor Birch!"

"Yeah," agreed Brock, "that was really great."

The professor nodded, already fiddling with his work again. "You're welcome. Take care, now."

Misty bowed again and left, but Brock stuck his head into Richie's room, first. "You gonna be okay now?"

"Yeah... yeah. Just, uh, give my regards to Misty, okay? Since I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and all."

Brock gave the younger boy a searching look. "Alright, I'll do that. You take care of yourself, now." Richie nodded, and Brock left and ran to catch up with the others.

Ash smiled at him when he did, leaning over to catch his breath and still looking a little pale. "So, er, sorry for the way I've been acting, guys."

"It's okay," reassured Misty. "I'm sure we wouldn't have been any better."

Brock nodded. "We understand. It's not like we're about to abandon you over something like that!"

Ash straightened and settled his jacket and cap. "Thanks, you two. You're real friends." He gave a ragged grin. "I sure know I'll never forget the last couple of days!"

Misty and Brock laughed. "Yeah!"


End file.
